San Jose Inturbide, Guanajuato, Mexico
October 4, 2010
On Friday, 1st October, the plant breeding company Rijk Zwaan officially opened its new production location in Mexico: Rijk Zwaan Promex. Situated at an altitude of 2,050 metres, this location offers perfect conditions for top-quality seed to be harvested all year round.
The purpose-built seed-producing nursery, which is located in San Jose Inturbide in the state of Guanajuato, was necessary to keep up with Rijk Zwaan’s continuous growth. Production expert and project manager Frans van de Sande explains: “This is the ideal location for us to grow seed, in particular for tomato and peppers, for several reasons; The high light intensity and the temperate climate allows us to produce all year round, allowing us a high degree of flexibility to respond to changing levels of market demand, for example. Other significant benefits of this area include the excellent infrastructure, the availability of gas and the isolated location. The current production area comprises 3 hectares, but we have the option to expand this in the future, as necessary.”
Rijk Zwaan Promex produces year round top-quality seeds.
Stringent hygiene measures
Rijk Zwaan Promex has been constructed as a turn-key project in collaboration with the Dutch greenhouse-building company, Van der Hoeven. In addition to the modern glasshouse nursery, the location comprises an extraction area, 2 boilers, a reservoir to collect heat and a storage room for seeds. The seed is produced under extremely stringent hygienic conditions, in order to keep the risk of seed-borne diseases to a minimum. Van de Sande: “Rijk Zwaan Promex is a replica of De Vesting, our nursery located in De Lier, the Netherlands. We work with identical facilities and follow the same procedures, meaning that in Mexico, too, we are always able to check and control the situation. Furthermore, we made a point of recruiting staff who demonstrated a clear sense of responsibility.”
General Manager Stephan de Bock (with head) and governor of the state Guanajuato, Licenciado Juan Manuel Oliva Ramirez, celebrate the official opening of Rijk Zwaan Promex. Left of them Cora Minderhout, ambassador of The Netherlands in Mexico and on the right side Marco van Leeuwen, Rijk Zwaan CEO.
Intensive quality control
From July 2011, the intention is that all seed produced at De Vesting and Rijk Zwaan Promex will be certified according to GSPP, the latest hygiene protocol for tomato. The same goes for all other Rijk Zwaan locations where seed is grown for the high-tech market. Van de Sande: “De Vesting and Rijk Zwaan Promex represent unique investment projects for us, since we have designed everything around the new hygiene protocol from the outset. However, we work to the same high standards at our other locations, both those belonging to Rijk-Zwaan and those owned by contract growers. Moreover, all seed – regardless of where in the world it has been harvested – is always subjected to an intensive quality-control procedure in De Lier before entering the market. With this approach, Rijk Zwaan continues to lead the way in terms of quality and reliability.”
Link to video of the event
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